Not so Expendable
by ChaosWithImagination
Summary: Barney Ross started the new expendables with the sole purpose of it being just business. He never wanted to grow close to a group of people like that again and get his heart ripped out and his back stabbed. But what he got was a group of misfits that became a team, friends, brothers...family.
1. Toll Road

I do not own The Expendables

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Toll Road.

Toll Road was an unusual man with unusual problems. The only problem is that he never realized it until it was almost too late. As a child Toll felt that there was something wrong with him. He didn't like being around people, didn't like change, was prone to bouts of depression and felt like he would never been good for anything. But everywhere he looked there were no others like him. So he assumed that what he was feeling was wrong and that the world was right. So he fought hard against the feelings that raged inside him with such determination that he became somewhat of a legend. He went to parties and was the life of it, he played multiple sports, was an active member of his schools' debate clubs, was one of the most upbeat guys that anyone could meet and excelled in everything that he did. But nothing that he did stopped what he was feeling. No matter how hard he tried there were times when he just wanted to be left alone, there were moments when a schedule would conflict and he would just want to scream and throw things. There were moments in his debates when he would have to pull himself back from going into philosophical rants because the topics of debate were just so depressing in that the solutions were so simple and people just wouldn't get it. But worst of all was the feelings of inadequacy and inferiority; they never went away. No matter how well he did; no matter how high his grades were and how many things he did; the feelings just intensified. He was no good and he would never be good.

And it hurt. It hurt like a knife that was pressed into him and was being slowly twisted further in everyday he forced himself to push down what he was feeling inside. And in those rare moments when he finally made up his mind to talk to someone about what he was feeling; no one got what he was saying. Not his friends, not his family not his girlfriends. No one could understand the real Toll Road. So he continued being the fake Toll Road. The one everyone loved and the one he hated with all his heart.

Then when it was time to choose his path in life, Toll surprised everyone and enrolled in the Army despite scholarships that would have taken him anywhere he wanted to go. But Toll figured that if anyplace could help him, it would be the army. The routine and rigidity and training may actually soothe some of the problems. Maybe he could shed the fake Toll as the Army remade him. Maybe he could find some sort of peace in the middle of all the pain. Maybe they could help him understand that was wrong with him; and he could be fixed.

It turned out to be a relative disappointment. While the Army did soothe some of his problems, he made the fatal error of showing everyone the fake Toll. After that no one wanted the real Toll. Even his Army commanders began to promote him based on his outstanding performances. Toll watched his dreams of salvation slowly crumble away but he had no way to stop it. That was until he met Hale Caesar.

Hale Caesar seemed like one of those typical guys at first. Caesar was ridiculously strong and showed off in the gym and on the field, he was loud and basically proclaimed when he voiced his opinion, he joked and laughed along with everyone else. Then Toll began to notice that despite the huge muscles and brash front; Caesar had a gentleness in his actions. An almost feminine grace to his movements. When he made a joke about it intending to be mildly insulting, Caesar just laughed along with him and told him to stop being jealous about Caesar's security with himself. Toll have laughed back but the words stuck in his mind. _Caesar's security with himself._ He found himself paying attention to what Caesar did and how he behaved and found out a few more of Caesar's quirks that would have been the brunt of much insults if Caesar hadn't been so confident and secure in what he did, said and was. It was the start of a distant love-hate relationship with Hale Caesar. Toll loved that the man could be so secure with all his little quirks but hated the same fact. Watching and getting to know Hale Caesar seemed to make his insecurities and inferiority even worse. But he couldn't help himself because for once in his life he felt like the real Toll Road had a role model.

He had felt sure that he was keeping his weird obsession with Caesar under wraps until the day when he was walking around aimlessly just trying to find some semblance of quiet time but failing miserably and Caesar came up next time him. He jumped a bit because he didn't hear the big man slide into step with him. Caesar said nothing but continued to walk with him and Toll didn't realize that Caesar was slowly corralling him to a quiet spot until there was nothing but the dull buzz of their encampment. He looked around surprised and Caesar laughed.

"Toll man," Caesar said, "If you don't figure out what going on with you, you're gonna lose your mind." And there on the dirt, Toll poured out his heart to Hale Caesar. And like the great emperor probably once did, Caesar sat still as a statue and just listened. Then at the end of it he said, "Nobody knows you better than you. You may not think so, but it's true. In the end of all things, all you have is yourself. If you don't make peace with who you are then you are going to be forever alone in this world. So forget about what the world thinks man, you just be you. It's worth every bit of that fight." For the first time in years Toll Road broke down in tears. Someone understood.

It was a hard fight but in the end Toll shed his fake self and wore his real self. It helped to have Caesar at his back. Yet it still took him months to confess to Caesar that he considered him a friend and a brother. He was rewarded with a slap on the shoulder and a grin. The ability to understand each other though simple gestures and little words was part of their bond. Toll knew that he would always have Caesar as a friend but he also know that their time as a team would end. And he didn't want it to end. He wanted to have his friend always at his side. He never mentioned this to Caesar but the weight of having to separate, of eventually losing contact with the one person that could practically read his mind; was heavy in his heart.

Then the day came. And the day dragged into weeks, into months, into years and Toll was going crazy trying to find something that he felt comfortable doing. They still kept in contact but it was waning. Toll knew that eventually the contact would stop and he would have to brave the world alone. Then one day he got a call from Caesar to meet him at a bar. The man sounded normal but Toll could feel the tremor of excitement in his voice.

"What's going on Caesar?" he asked suspicious, "This better not be like that date thing you tried with us."

"No way man," Caesar said, "This is nothing like that. And what was wrong with that date thing I tried."

The silence that Toll gave him caused Caesar to laugh and again reassure Toll that it was nothing like that. Toll gave him assurance that he would be there. When he got to the bar, it was like one of those typical seedy biker bars, complete with bikes in the front. Caesar met him at the door, slung an arm around him and led him to a table where another man was sitting. The man was a little taller than he was but powerfully built and had this air of command that Toll found impressive. He had tattoo gracing his arms and a thick skull ring on the middle finger of his right hand.

"Toll Road meet Barney Ross. Barney Ross meet Toll Road," Caesar said as loudly as usual. Barney stood up and shook hands with Toll while giving him a firm nod.

"So as I was saying..." Barney continued and as Toll listened he realized why Caesar had called him. He was giving him a chance. What Barney Ross was offering was an amazing job, an opportunity of a lifetime but it wasn't the money or the chance to use the skills that he had honed for years that sold Toll. It was that he would be getting Caesar back. It would be like they were before; two odd men, old friends, brothers in arms watching out for each other and enjoying what life threw at them because they held each other up in the storm. And when he confirmed his place in Barney Ross' group of Expendables he saw something in the man's eyes and had a feeling that maybe, just maybe Barney Ross needed someone like them.


	2. Hale Caesar

I do not own the Expendables.

Please Review. Thanks.

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Hale Caesar.

People never believed Hale Caesar when he told them that he came from a good family background. But it was true he had loving parents, had gotten along well with his sibling and had done generally well at school. Despite all that Hale Caesar was a strange mix in a regular society. And that mix allowed him only two choices; you either had a brother at your back or you had your back against the wall. And he chose the brother at his back. The sad thing was that he never realized until only much, much later, that there was a third choice but he had never thought about it. It was sad because the choice of the brother at his back was what got him his black marks.

He didn't realize it at first; that the brothers at his back were using him, were changing him into a person that he didn't recognize. It started off small. He was told that brothers stood up for each other and with his size it was an easy thing to intimidate others. Talking and staring turned to pushing and shoving and then to punching and kicking. The fact that he managed to hide what was going on from his parents for as long as he did and do well at school was only further conformation to the change that had already taken place in him. He was practically living a double life. In one he was a loving son, brother, cooked for his parents, encouraged by his teachers and school based peers and in the other he was nothing less than a thug; a large muscled young man that was calculating in his ruthlessness and precise in his execution, earning the name of the Black Emperor. He was growing dangerous to the brothers at his back but only he didn't see it.

When the betrayal came it was literally a stab in the back. It would have been easier for him if the stab in the back was the only thing that happened. But the brothers at his back had made a grave miscalculation. Because they choose to attack him when he was with them. They had seen him with his family and at school and they believed that the boy at school still existed with when he walked with them and had their backs. They thought the Black Emperor was a mask. But it wasn't. It would have been easier to kill him if he was Hale Caesar. He remembered the sharp pain in his back, he remembered the sound of guns cocking and the world was both roaring and horribly silent for what felt like a long time. Then he recognized the police sirens but he was so tired that he couldn't run. When he looked around he realized that he was sitting against the wall with bodies around him and there was blood everywhere. The officers approached him slowly as if nearing a wild animal. And Hale Caesar looked up at them as if coming out a trance. He had started off with one choice and ended up with the other. He was now with his back against the wall.

He never knew how or why he survived surgery. Meeting with his family was the most horrible part of everything. Even when he explained to them why he had done what he did and they told him that they understood and forgave him, their eyes never lost the gleam of fear in it. The trial was surprisingly the start of his saving grace. Because it was when he was on trial that he found out that he hadn't killed his former brothers. They had all survived. Despite the apparent mindless urge he had to destroy them, he hadn't. It turned out that there was something good inside him after all. It was that small spark of hope that set him on the road to atoning for his deeds. He gave evidence against the gang that he was involved in, pleaded guilty to his charges and did his time.

Jail was the place that he reconciled Hale Caesar and the Black Emperor. It wasn't easy. He hated himself for a long time while trying to regain being the Hale Caesar his family kept saying that he was when they came by to see him. Then the epiphany hit him; he wasn't that Hale Caesar anymore, he wasn't the same person. He was different, so trying to go back to what he was before wouldn't work. The epiphany was like a mental lightbulb and it lit the way for his mental and emotional recovery. It took the totally amount of his jail time to get himself together but when he left he was a new Hale Caesar. And his philosophy was different; he would no longer choose the brother at his back, or his back against the wall. He would choose to stand on the mountain and take on whoever dared to climb up his way.

He took the advice of his parents and joined the army when he got out. He was a little past the age and it took some serious paperwork but he got in. He didn't mind the insults, did his best in the training and was one of the best. Yet he sucked at the most integral part of the army training and that was the part about being a team; it was about having brothers at your back and trusting them to not stab you in it. And that philosophy had failed him. Time and time again he ran his team in to the lower ranks because he simply could not bring himself to trust the men at his back. For Hale Caesar there were no such thing as brothers at your back; they would try to kill you eventually. It was a last ditch effort to convert Hale Caesar into team playing man that bought him into the team that Toll Road was a part off. At first he did what he usually did, he set up his mountain. He talked, laughed, showed off his strength, made acquaintances enough that he could have favors when he asked for it and company when he needed it but never friends, never brothers. He was the man on his mountain and soon enough people realized it, accepted and Caesar was happy.

Then one day he realized that Toll Road was looking at him. It wasn't that anyone would notice it really; it was just little looks and it only happened at certain times; like when Caesar was cleaning his weapon, or getting into an animated debate with someone or when he cooked. At first Caesar thought he was imaging it but after a few checks he was sure. Toll Road was definitely looking at him. Caesar had no idea what to do about it. He thought about going up and just asking the guy what was going on but something kept him back from using his usual frontal assault. So instead he began to gather intel on Toll hoping that something would pop up that would clarify the situation. Turned out it wasn't one thing that popped up that made Caesar realize what was going on but a whole lot of little things. It was the way Toll acted when he thought people wasn't watching, the way he would retreat into himself until someone turned their attention to him. The way he held his weapon like he was sometimes unsure of it despite that he was one of the best with it. The way the he wandered around, looking at if he was checking up on the others but what he really was doing was just trying to get time to himself. Caesar watched him for a few weeks until one day all the little pieces clicked. And he realized that Toll Road was Hale Caesar used to be. A man that was really two guys. The realization did something to Caesar that he didn't expect; it made him want to come down from his mountain and he didn't like it. So he stayed on the mountain, looking down at Toll Road looking up. He watched the man wander around looking more and more lost and watched him look up at Caesar with a look that became more and more desperate.

Then one night Caesar saw Toll wandering around again looking for a place to be alone when He walked up the man and dropped in beside him. He had no idea why he was doing what he was doing. He saw Toll give him the desperate look that he had gotten used to seeing directed at him. They said nothing just walked and he began leading Toll slowly but surely to a more quiet part of the camp. It was both funny and really sad to see Toll twitch a bit with surprise when he realized what Caesar had done. But Caesar was not prepared for the look of utter gratefulness that Toll directed at him. It made his mountain crumble just a little. He had laughed in an attempt to regain his footing then found himself telling Toll what he had learned about himself. Horrified at what he just exposed he watched to see the reaction. He expected Toll to murmur something smart or make a cliché statement and dismiss Caesar's most sensitive exposure of his soul. Instead Toll looked at him for a long second and then broke down into tears.

Then Caesar was told of a man that made himself into two men in order to survive. He was told of a man that had no brothers at his back and no wall to rest his back against. He was told of a man that was trying to reconcile those two parts and become whole. And he understood. So he did the best thing he could. He taught Toll how to build his mountain. He taught him how to stand on it and he watched the man who was two men become one man for the first time in him life. What he didn't realize until much later was that their mountains had become one and that he was no longer alone at the top of his mountain. It Toll that drove home the reality of the situation when he told Caesar that he considered him a friend and a brother. Caesar had expected to feel angry at being told that he was a brother at someone's back but it turned out that Toll Road was exception to the rule. Toll Road had become a brother at his back without him realizing it and he found that he didn't mind.

So he had finally made a friend. A real one this time that had his back and would not stab him in it. Toll had proved himself a hundred times over the course of their friendship and Caesar still felt slightly amazed that it had happened. He never gave thought to the day that they would separate until that day came. And suddenly the top of his mountain was just occupied by him alone. He tried to keep in contact with Toll Road but it got harder and harder and the top of the mountain felt lonelier and lonelier. He missed his friend. He wanted his brother at his back.

One day he was drinking in a bar when a man came and sat next to him.

"Those arms worth anything more than just for show?" the man said. Caesar turned slowly to look at the man who had opened with such an insulting statement.

"I'll have you know that these babies can tear you apart before you can even think about getting off that chair," Caesar said. The man looked at him long and hard and then grinned.

"I believe you," he said then held out his hand to Caesar, "My name is Barney Ross and I have a proposition for you." They got a table and Barney Ross got talking. Half way through Caesar stopped him.

"I got a friend that is perfect for what you want. I can give him a call and get him down here right now." Barney Ross looked at him and then shrugged and nodded. Caesar excused himself and made the call outside the bar. He was so excited that he could barely keep himself cool to not spook Toll. He failed at keeping cool but got Toll out the house. He told Barney that Toll was coming and stood waiting for his friend to arrive. He didn't realize how bad he wanted to have Toll back as a fixture in his life until he saw the shorter man walking up to the bar. Suddenly his mountain felt less lonely. He slung an arm around Toll shoulder and felt the world ease back into normality. Everything was going to be great now. He got his brother at his back again. He introduced Toll to Barney Ross and Ross continued his talk. Caesar payed half way attention to Ross and watched Toll reaction. He saw when Toll realized what was being offered to them. He caught the look that directed to him and he felt it when Toll stepped back onto their mountain. Then something weird happened. Barney Ross had reached the end of his talk that they were reaching to shake hands to agree to be on the Expendables team when Caesar caught a look in Barney's eyes. It was one that was familiar to him. It was a look that Caesar saw I his own eyes after his first brothers had stabbed him in the back. Barney was taking a gamble on them. He was choosing to have brothers at his back again even after being betrayed. He realized that maybe joining this group was going to be more than just making money, maybe this group could be about restoring a guy's faith in brothers just like Toll did with him. And he was up for that.


	3. Gunner

I do not own the Expendables.

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 **Gunner.**

It was well known among his close friends, or at least those that he called friends, that Gunner was a genius. It is not well known that he used to be shy and timid. At first glance, no one would have believed that the six foot blond young man with the serious face and thick accent would be like that but once it was found that his bark and bite were equally harmless, the teasing began. At first Gunner tried to ignore it. He listened to his mother and spoke her words to his attackers but that only made matters worse. The teasing got even worse after he began to do that. It went from just words, to words and pushes, to harmless pranks and harsh word s then to serious attacks and venomous words. And even then Gunner never retaliated. Never did anything but talk back and do his work. He never put his size to use; in fact he never thought about using his body as a way to protect himself. His mother had always said that the way to truly protect yourself was to use your brain and your words. The pen was mightier than the sword. Gunner had believed what she had said but after months of seeing that the pen was getting him nowhere against the sword, he was beginning to lose faith.

Then one day they broke him. He had been placed inside a storage room in a part of the school that was barely visited. The room was just smaller than he was and no words he spoke had parried their swords thrusts of anger and malice. They locked him in and left him there. Two days later, the authorities found him but the young man that they pulled out of that room was not the same one that had gone it. In the cramped darkness, Gunner the shy, quiet genius had died. The boys that had locked him in was the crowd that came to see him released. Gunner spotted them and lurched around a bit till he came close to them. Then with a speed that no one knew he had, least of all himself, he grabbed a hold of them.

"Your turn to die now," he said in low gutteral voice. He punched all three down within seconds, blood spurting from under his fists. He gazed at his fingers stained with the blood as if surprised that he was able to do this. Then he smiled. It took five officers to pull him off the three boys but not before he had reduced their faces to pulp. He was laughing as they dragged him away.

Needless to say, his mother had been very disappointed in him. Gunner felt that he should have felt surprised, even hurt or angry but he was just resigned. It was as if he knew the truth about his mother all the long but he had never opened his eyes to see that she had never loved him. Never really loved him like a mother should, because what mother would see her son come home hurt day after day and not take any action? Or maybe this was how mothers loved their children. Whatever the case was Gunner stopped listening to anyone that tried to give him advice, stopped caring about people, stopped being kind, gentle or quiet. He stopped all that because no one gave him a reason to continue.

Despite his drastic change in attitude, he was still a genius and he did exceptional in school. He graduated with a degree in chemistry but a broken mind and no desire to make anything of himself. He couldn't connect with people because he hated and looked down on them. Even though he quit further education to be a bouncer because he wanted to get to know this girl that danced in that particular disco, it was just a superficial thing and she dumped him after a few days. Those two days in the store room had broken him more than he had realized and he felt that he had come too far down the road to go back and find those pieces and try to fix them. For months he wandered, moving from one violent engagement to another. Slowly his genius began to be eaten away by alcohol, drugs and lack of use. It wasn't that he didn't notice. It wasn't that he didn't care that he was destroying himself. It wasn't until he met Barney Ross that for the first time in years that found someone that expected more than what he was giving out.

Unsurprisingly he met Barney in a fight. Barney was a year into the marines when Gunner's gang had picked a fight with Barney's mates. Of course Gunner was the man they choose to pit against marines and the Marines choose Barney. Barney was a sinewy young man, with a body like steel and a deceptive length of stamina and inhuman willpower. Gunner had never fought a man like that. They traded blow and after blow till the entire bar was silent just waiting to see who would fall. Turned out none of them did. Coming down to the unconcluded end, when they were both swaying on their feet, Barney stopped and looked at Gunner.

"Why are you wasting your life here?" Barney asked.

"Don't talk to me insect," Gunner snarled.

"Really" Barney insisted, "We could use a guy like you on the field."

"A guy like me?" Gunner asked, "What do you know about a guy like me?" Barney gave him a weird half smile as if he knew exactly about guys like Gunner.

"Maybe I know alot more than you think," Barney said just loud enough for Gunner to hear.

Two weeks later and the words were still ringing in Gunner's mind. Barney had managed to wake up something in Gunner that Gunner thought was dead; hope for someone that would be able to interact with him without violence. He lasted another week before he gave up and headed to the Army. Strangely enough the Army was the place that helped his genius to come back. He didn't relalize how much Chemistry was involved in doing what the Army did; from guns, to rations, to ammunition and even the clothing had some aspect of chemistry involved. And if he was completely honest with himself he enjoyed being there; enjoyed the work, fighting back with well-placed insults and watching the grudging respect given to him as he went about his punishments with precision and dedication. He liked being able to hone the violent side of him and still not lose his mental faculties in the process. He wished he had found the Army a long time ago. But being a normal soldier was not what he was aiming for; Barney Ross was the thing he was aiming for and Barney was in the Marines. So to the Marines Gunner went.

It took him an inhuman amount of effort and the full extent of the genius that was left to get him to where Barney was, in the shortest possible time. But he did it and he walked into the squad mess tent with a smirk on his face.

"Well i'll be damned," he heard Barney say before the man was standing up and looking at Gunner with an unreadable expression on his face. Gunner shrugged and went to take a seat at a table in the corner. Barney's table was in the middle of the mess tent and Gunner hated to have people at his back that he couldn't see. He had accomplished his goal after all; he got to where Barney Ross was, he didn't need to sit with him. Apparently Barney thought different and waved him over but Gunner shook his head and sunk back further into his seat. Barney frowned for a second then seemed to perk up. He then got up, took his tray and came over to when Gunner was sitting.

"Mind the company?" He asked. Gunner didn't know how to reply to that, so he just shrugged again. Barney didn't seem to think that the lack of reply was anything weird. He just sat eating the gunk on the tray, not seeming to need to make small talk. Which was fine with Gunner; he hated small talk. Soon other guys began to drift over to their table. At first it was a bulky guy with alot of tattoo that Barney called Tool. Then it was a dark haired man with wild dangerous eyes that introduced himself as Doc. Gunner saw two other sitting at the table that Barney had left that were eyeing the ones that had just arrived but they didn't come over. It seemed that Barney wasn't the leader then. Gunner frowned, wondering who was the man that commanded their respect because as far as he saw Barney was his kind of leader. A man that went ahead and didn't force his men to follow; they just did. Neither Tool nor Doc said anything to him either. They just ate, sometimes glancing at Barney and sometimes as Gunner but the stares were not ones of hostility; they were merely curious. Gunner didn't mind curious. Then a few minutes later another man blew into the tent. He was tall, lean and had a head of short but wild hair. He strode over to Barney's previous table, said something in a voice that carried across the room but Gunner could not make out the words, then he glanced over to their table. He frowned for a second then smiled. He came over to their table and swung himself onto the bench next to Barney and threw an arm across his shoulders.

"Stonebanks," Barney said with a flicker towards Gunner. It was both a greeting and an introduction. Stonebanks looked at Gunner and grinned.

"What you got here Barney?" He asked. Gunner didn't like that grin. It was one that pretended to be nice but in fact it was full of poison. He knew alot of looks like that and they usually belonged to bad people. He was confused as to why Barney allowed a man like that to put his hand over his shoulder. He would have broken that man's hand by now.

"His name is Gunner," Barney said, then he paused and looked at Gunner, "I think he could be a really good guy to have on the field." Gunner didn't feel discouraged at the words. Barney didn't know him yet so of course he could not vouch for him. Stonebanks looked back across the room then to Gunner. Gunner didn't miss the look; so this was the man that held the others.

"What about you Gunner," Stonebanks asked, "You think you can be a good man?" Gunner wanted to snarl at the man but held himself back because of Barney.

"I am not a good man," he replied, "But I am good at what I do." Barney nodded but Stonebanks laughed.

"Well let me give you some advice, Stonebanks said, "You have to be more than good to stay here. You have to be the best."

Gunner snorted at him. "If i wanted advice, cockroach," Gunner growled, "I wouldn't ask you for it."

The silence that followed was the kind that killing could be done in and Gunner was more than ready to try and kill this guy. Barney broke it by saying, "Do you ever take advice from anyone Gunner." Gunner shrugged not willing to admit to himself that maybe he would take advice from Barney; if it was good advice and if it suited his designs. Barney gave him that weird smile that made Gunner feel like Barney was reading his mind then got up and walked off. Stonebanks let him for a few seconds to hold Gunner with a nasty glare and then walked off after Barney. Tool and Doc looked at Gunner and smiled.

Somehow that saying became code of sorts between Barney and Gunner. Whenever Gunner would do something that was unduly reckless but still turn out fine. Barney would shake his head and ask, "Do you ever take advice from anyone Gunner?" It meant ' _Stop doing stupid things_ '. Gunner would laugh but not reply.

When Gunner would rain demeaning insults on someone and then handle their hits as if it was nothing; Barney would help patch up the cuts that Gunner would hide while asking "Do you ever take advice from anyone Gunner?" It meant ' _Gunner stop trying to be something you are not and accept help._ ' Gunner would just grunt at the question and make childish hurt noises that Barney would ignore.

When Gunner would sit by himself allowing himself those rare moments when all the hurt, pain and anger of his life would boil into a heavy loneliness, Barney would come and sit next to him. And when it was over Gunner would tell Barney that he didn't need a babysitter and Barney would ask him the same question. It was in times like those that Gunner would almost reply that he would take advice from Barney but somehow he never said it. It didn't seem right. It was as if he had said it, he would be lying because he would not be telling the full truth.

Then the right time came and as with Gunner it happened during one of those times that made Barney ask the question. He was lying in the med tent with his intestines poking out and feeling like maybe this was his time to go. It wasn't like this was the first time he had felt like this but this was the first time that it was almost guaranteed. He didn't feel like he had the ability to pull through this near death experience. And he felt damn glad. Maybe now he didn't have to live in a world that he could only interact through hatred and anger. Then when he felt like he was going to breathe his final dose of oxygen, Barney Ross storms to his bedside and stands glowering over him.

"Don't you dare die Gunner," Barney shouts at him, "You keep breathing, you got that?" Gunner had a feeling that this request was not made just because of him. Gunner just looks at him and tries to make up his mind about if he was going to listen to Barney or not. It looks like he was further gone than he thought because trying to decide that took a few minutes, in which he had taken a few more breaths. Barney's face softened and he sighed. "Do you ever take advice from anyone Gunner?"

Gunner smiled or at least he thought he smiled. "Just from you Barney," he replied.

The silence that followed had Barney staring down at him with him mouth slightly opened and then Barney smiled back with what looks a bit like tears and alot of satisfaction.

Years pass and Gunner makes relationships that he can sort of call friends. He could not fully call them friends because they were already friends with Stonebanks and he could not call friends of Stonebanks as his friends too. He really did hate that guy. But he fights with them, saves their lives, laughs with them, sits though painful wounds with them, starves with them and celebrates with them. Then the years of closeness come to an end and Gunner is faced with heading back out into the world. He has no idea where he is going to go but he will figure it out like he always has. Barney is with him at their farewell.

"Keep yourself good Gunner," Barney advises him. Gunner does not think he will be able to take that advice. But he is not worried about himself but about Barney, because Gunner has seen what kind of man Stonebanks is going to be and he doesn't want Barney to get caught up with him.

"Hey Barney," Gunner says slowly, "I know I am not the best man to give advice but I am still going to give you some." He pauses not sure how to phrase it then just goes ahead and says it anyways, "Stay away from Stonebanks. He is a bad man and he's going to make you bad."

Barney stares at him and then assures him that he is a big boy and can take care of himself. Gunner just shakes his head and doesn't say anything else. More years pass and Gunner is back on drugs and doing all kinds of crazy things that could land him dead but he hasn't gotten that lucky. Then one night, he is so high that he finds himself back on the battlefield while still on the city streets. He walks around ducking for cover against enemy forces that only he can see and out of the darkness Barney Ross emerges. Gunner stops and just stares. Barney doesn't say anything until he gets Gunner into Barney's truck and takes him home. Gunner spends the night alternating puking into Barney's toilet and sleeping on the toilet floor. Barney cooks breakfast for them the next morning and then tell Gunner about his expendables group. Gunner looks at him and figures the haunted look on Barney's face has something to do with Stonebanks.

Turns out he is right when Barney stops after telling him the proposition, brings them breakfast then start again saying, "Remember what you told me about Stonebanks?" Gunner nods. "I should have taken your advice." Gunner shovels food into his mouth before saying, "You should always listen to me Barney and," he pauses here and looks at Barney, "no he didn't." Barney looks at him and then begin eating with a small smile on his face.


	4. YinYang

I do not own the Expendables.

I was on vacation! Sorry for the little delay.

YinYang was acutally pretty hard to write so i hope that i did him justice. He perspective as slightly different, so lemme know what you all think!

Review!( i am so drunk on sleepiness right now. hehe.) but please review. Thanks!

* * *

YinYang.

YinYang was the smallest, quietest and the fastest of this new group that he had joined. Before he had joined he made sure that everyone he had worked with knew about the first two aspects of himself but never the last. He had learned through many experiences, that he did not care to share, that one must always have an 'Ace up one's sleeve' as these west-worlders said. At first each person in this Expendables group was connected to someone but YinYang was connected to no one and he had preferred it that way. He did not like being attached to someone because that connection sometimes caused him a lot of trouble especially when there was already a lot of trouble that did not need being added to. So he kept himself to himself, did his job and tried not to get attached. But somehow they got under his skin and before he knew it; he was connected. Most days he didn't notice it but then there were other times when it was glaring and he could not help but look back in wonder and gratefulness at the path that had brought him to where he was.

YinYang was the son of an extremely wealthy merchant back in the homeland. He was brought up wanting for nothing, sent to the best schools in which he excelled and was taught the family business and of course learned the marital art that was aligned to his family. However when it was time for him to go into the family business, to his father's horror, YinYang chose to go into military service. No amount of begging, threatening and pleading could persuade him to do otherwise. His Father in a fit of anger disowned him and sent him to his fate. Yet on his day of enlistment his father came to him to ask him why he had chosen to betray the family. YinYang had then revealed knowledge of all his father's bribes, scandalous affairs and so called honorable gifts. As his father stood open mouthed, YinYang also informed him that his mother was now reading a letter stating all that he had just said along with evidence. It was the world's first glimpse of the man called YinYang that had learned many lessons in secret and shared few. What he did not tell his father was that he had stolen from his father's secret store of money and had given his mother exact instructions of what to do with her life. He then left his family behind to find his way.

Three years later found him in the Western Army called the Marines where he was given the nickname of Chin; which he found distasteful but it was better than what some of the others minority groups had gotten so he kept quiet about it. For the first time he had a family of sorts, that teased each other, fought, slept and laughed with each other. These rough men taught him many new lessons that he did not know before but still he saw in them a thread of dishonor and malice that made his relationship with them feel tainted. He always had to have an ' _Ace up his sleeve_ ' in order to survive. He thought that he would have gotten used to living this way but after serving in the marines for six years, he found that living with the constant need to have that _Ace_ was starting to have a toll on him. He longed for someone, anyone that he could show all his cards and they would show him all of theirs.

However it seemed like the universe was against him. When he got discharged, he quickly aligned himself with a security group that turned out to be part time thugs. He had gathered evidence and then sent it off to the police along with setting his team up. Then he had wandered for a few months before joining a prison transport detail. That had been great for a year until one of his team got drunk and YinYang found out what they really thought about him. That had led to a serious fight in which he had to incapacitate all of his fellow workers. The aftermath of that had not been pleasant. It was while he was getting drunk in a small bar that he got approached for mercenary work. He spent a few years with various groups, always moving for some reason or another. The West he decided was a place in which no one could be trusted. At least he thought so until he met Barney Ross.

He met Barney in a fight. He was passing by an alley and it was only his quick reflexes that had him moving out of the way as a body went flying. He peered into the alley to see one guy beating the daylights out of two other guys. He stepped into the alley and saw a muscular guy standing in front of a prone figure. His two assailants were taunting but not getting close before they met the same fate as their comrade. Yin Yand watched as they faked rushed the guy, only to be caught and then punched to the ground.

"And stay down this time," the muscular guy growled at them, "bunch of thugs." He looked up to see YinYang watching him then moved to pick up the prone figure behind him, throwing the body over his shoulder. He walked past YinYang. YinYang followed him to see him putting the young man into a heavily fortified truck. Then the man turned to him and waved him over.

"Well come on," he said, "This guy needs to get to a hospital quick." YinYang found himself climbing into the passenger seat of a total stranger. He was given the duty of holding a dirty rag against a nasty stab wound. The young man was sprawled across the seat, dark blood dripping over the leather but the muscular man didn't seem to mind.

"Why are you helping him?" YinYang asked, "Friend of yours?" The guy shook his head.

"Nah. Just a kid that was in a bad place," he replied.

They rode in silence until they got the young man to a health facility where the medical team took over and the muscular guy answered to the best of his ability. In the glaring light of waiting room YinYang saw now what kind of man this was. The way he held himself, the way he moved and talked and the way his eyes never rested told YinYang all he needed to know. This man was a mercenary like himself; yet here he was helping some kid in a back alley. Once the muscular guy was done, YinYang followed him back out to his truck. At the door they stood facing each other.

"You are a killer," YinYang said.

"Yeah I am," the man replied, his voice strong but with a current of sadness behind it as if being drawn from a deep well of sorrow.

"Why did you not kill them," YinYang inquired, "You have a gun." The man shrugged.

"They didn't need to be killed," he replied, "They are just kids were in a bad place too. Not everyone in a bad place needs to be killed."

They stared at each other again.

"Do you have a team?" YinYang asked. The man blinked once then nodded. "I would like to join it." The man looked away from him for a few seconds then back at him.

"How about we go get something to eat and I will tell you about it. Then you can make up your mind of you want to join or not." He held the door open for YinYang. YingYang looked at him and then got in.

So that was how YinYang ended up in a small diner sitting across from the man whose name he found out was Barney Ross. Barney was unlike all the other guys he had ever dealt with before for two reasons; he had actually asked for this job and Barney was actually honest. The realization hit YinYang when Barney began lay out what the group was about, what their code of conduct would be and what the payment would be like. Here was a man that was laying his cards on the table. YinYang forced himself to smoother the hope that he was having as he said that he would join and shoot Barney Ross' hand, but he hoped that he would at last be given a chance.

Turns out he had been. Barney Ross was the man that laid his cards out and expected YinYang to do the same. It may have taken YinYang months to do it but he had. And it had felt like a burden being released. The Universe had smiled on him in the form of Barney Ross.


	5. Tool

I do not own the Expendables.

Sorry for the late update dudes. I was busy with work and stuff. Hope you all enjoy this!"

* * *

 **Tool**

Tool had known Barney Ross for what felt like forever despite having only known him when they met in the army. He watched him come in green, make friends, make enemies, fall almost to the brink of breaking, rise and kept on going. Watched him earn respect out of everyone that ever met him; friend and foe alike. Remembered the day he realized that he would follow Barney Ross to the ends of the earth. Never regretted his decision, not even now when Barney was hurting inside as hell and being really stupid about it all but still trying to do right by the new men that he had surrounded himself with. The new Expendables team. Tool knew that Barney was trying to keep his distance, trying to just be a boss and co-worker but it would never work. Barney would get attached like he feared to do, because that was just the kind of person that Barney Ross was. If he didn't get attached he would tear himself apart. But Toll didn't tell Barney that as the younger man sat facing him, nursing a warm beer between his large hands.

"You gonna drink that or keep caressing it?" Tool asked picking up his fifth. Barney glared at him but still didn't drink.

"Are you gonna answer my question or keep trying to change the subject?" Barney countered. Tool laughed tossing back the entire bottle before looking seriously back at Barney.

"I know what you are trying to do," Tool said softly. Barney looked away for a second then snapped his head back to face Tool as if he only just realized he had given himself away. Tool was pleased that Barney still trusted him enough to let his guard down around him. They stared at each other for a long few seconds then Tool sighed and picked up his sixth beer. "When are we starting?" Barney smiled a smile full of gratefulness and relief.

"As soon as you find something for us," he replied. Tool mock groaned.

"What the hell Barney? I gotta broker deals and run second to you? I hope I am getting twice as much pay for me doing two jobs," Tool said draining his bottle. Barney smiled.

"The pay shares the same. But I'll convince the guys to come get matching tattoos only at your shop." Tool flipped him the finger.

Tool got them a simple job for their first as a team; an extraction job still rough enough to challenge them but with enough flexibility to improvise a good back up plan if things went to hell. Judging by the look on their faces when Barney was telling them what the job was about; they all considered it below their skill level but were all still wise enough to know that it was a good job to take on for a first time team. Then Barney led them to the Plane for the first time. The looks on their face when they saw the massive metal death trap that Barney loved to fly was priceless. Tool whipped out his phone and took a picture while they were still staring with their mouths open. He saw YinYang give him a dirty look but then smiled and went back to looking at the plane shaking his head.

Barney turned as gave them a grin that held all the manic love he had for the aircraft and them led them aboard. They all took seats along the plane's belly while Tool and Barney went up to the cockpit. Once they were in the air, Tool looked back from the co-pilot's seat; the seat that once held StoneBanks before the bastard turned on them and tore Barney's heart into shreds. Caesar and Toll Road were sitting together, each doing their own thing. Gunner was sprawled out along a bunk, snoring. The large swede could always sleep where ever and whenever. Tool smiled a bit at the frown YingYang was throwing at Gunner while trying to meditate. He had a feeling those two would be the most trouble when they actually got comfortable enough to square off against each other. But yet something was missing. Someone was missing. Barney had gotten members to replace all of the old team except Stonebanks. And while Tool understood that sentiment he also knew that Barney needed a Stonebanks. Someone he could bicker with, share some of himself with, someone he could complain to, someone he could smile and laugh with. Someone he could call brother in his heart and not need to say it out loud for the other to know. Tool looked over to Barney and was about to saw something when Barney gave him this look from the corner of his eye and Tool shut up. It was meant to be a neutral " _please don't talk to me_ ," look. But instead it was one that filled with so much sadness, bitterness and loneliness, that it made tears choke Tool. He shuffled around in his seat trying to push away the warm prickling in his eyes, because Barney Ross didn't need tears. He had shed too many himself over what he had lost.

The plan was simple, the job was simple but of course things had to go hell. It wasn't any of the team's fault. The man that they had been sent to extract was a royal pain in the ass. Gunner had told them to knock the guy out and gag him the minute they got into the room where their Package had been held and the guy began cursing them for coming late. Barney of course tried to reason with the guy because undue violence was part of their behavior code. But the guy wouldn't listen to anything Barney was saying. In the end they had to threaten him to get him moving and when half way through the actual extraction the guy tripped and fell, hitting his face against a bust; all hell broke loose. The idiot began screaming like a woman as his bloodied nose and busted lips. That of course alerted his capturers. Gunner had knocked the guy out with one punch; glared at Barney who sighed and nodded to him. Gunner picked the guy up and flung him over one broad shoulder and then they put their skills to use.

Tool had to give it to Barney for finding some of the most amazing men on the planet. From the look on Barney face as the four men fell into place like cogs in a well-oiled machine, told him that Barney wasn't expecting this. Even when they had begun the first expendables team, it had some rough goings. But these men were not rough around the edges. They knew what they were about; they knew what they could do and it was as if they reading each other's minds as they loosely circled Gunner and their unconscious Package; ever changing positions but still keeping Gunner in the center while Barney scouted ahead and Tool brought up their rear. When the shooting started their positions didn't change. They kept going; shooting with excellent aim and making horrible quips at each other and their enemies while doing it. Tool saw YinYang take a winged shot to the leg, stumble a little but didn't falter long enough to cause a problem. Caesar and Toll were basically in an argument about which gun was better in close range combat and why you could not use a bazooka to solve all your problems. Barney shot him a look across the ever moving group between and Tool shook his head with a smile. Barney's gaze flickered over them and he was back to his job. But Tool saw the highly impressed look and growing fondness and knew that Barney Ross was already hooked.

They made it out alive, thanks to the bazooka that Caesar had that effectively covered their dash to the plane. Tool smiled at Caesar's 'I told you that it works for everything' to Toll Road and Toll emphatic 'This incident does not confirm your theory. You can't just take one event and use it for a hard a fast rule.' The follow up about a date and Toll's reply to that was lost as he slipped into the co-pilot's seat with Barney and they were up in the air as fast as they could. The tension didn't dissipate until YinYang had finished patching up their Package ad they had dropped off the now awakening man. Toll was leaning against Caesar's broad side, with his ear buds in while Caesar was leafing through a Home and Gardens magazine. The picture should have seemed odd but it the two man held the air of having done this so many times that it came off as normal. Gunner sitting across from YinYang as teasing him about the bullet wound. Tool was about to shut gunner up when YinYang snapped and yanked up his pant leg to point and say something when Gunner was across the plane and sitting cross legged on the floor with YinYang's foot in his hands. There was a slim blade pressed against Gunner throat and YinYang's face was a cold mask. Gunner snorted and swallowed deliberately letting his Adam's apple scrap along the blade then folded his head over the blade to look down at the bullet wound.

"It really isn't as bad as if seemed," Gunner said, "but it still needs to get dressed. I'm a chemical engineer. Hand me that peroxide." YinYang face was still that cold mask. They sat staring at each other before YinYang reached with his free hand, got the peroxide and handed it to Gunner. Gunner grinned maniacally as he took the bottle. YinYang sighed and removed the blade from Gunner throat.

"I don't like scars," he said leaning back. Gunner snorted.

"You want to preserve that fine skin of yours babycakes?" he laughed, "If you weren't so thin skinned, you wouldn't have a problem."

"Shut up Gunner," YinYang snapped just as Gunner poured the peroxide over the cut. YinYang hissed and waved the blade menacingly at Gunner. Gunner just laughed and went back to work. Tool shook his head and turned to see Barney also just turning back.

"They're alright," Tool said, Barney nodded. "Are you?" Barney looked at him, rolled his shoulders and looked as if the world of worries just fell back onto them.

""Maybe one day," he said, "Maybe one day."


	6. Lee Christmas

I do not own the Expendables.

This also brings me to the end of this story. I hope that everyone who has read this has enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

* * *

 **Lee Christmas.**

Lee didn't quite understand why he always ended up in these situations. And why in these situations he began to think back upon his life and wonder how the hell did he end up in this kind of situation once again. Actually he did understand; it was just something about coming close to the possible end of one's life that made a person think back to the past in hope that is could shed light upon the present and maybe some prediction about the future. His present was that he was tied to a chair. His predictable future was that he was going to be killed in the next few minutes by the rebels that he and his team, now ex-team since the bastards had deserted him, had come to suppress. The feeling of immobilization always reminded him of the long years he spent as a child in the hospital where it was his own frail body that kept him down instead of ropes and zip ties. Where every breath was fought for and every step was a battle. But he had won and survived and he would survive again. He was a fighter and fighters never give up. The words made him smile a little despite his split lips. He could still feel his father's strong arms around him; holding him together when he felt like he was being torn apart by coughs, colds and a debilitating weakness in his body. Those words would wrap around him like a blanket and stroke the fire deep inside him. Those words said in that deep, assured voice became his mantra for life, giving him strength long after the man who said them had passed on.

Lee looked over wistfully at the neatly displayed array of his confiscated weapons. At least the rebel had respect for his merchandise. The filthy light glinted off the honed edges of the many knives and ring daggers that usually lay comfortably hidden against Lee's body. He remembered the first time he saw a martial arts master display his proficiency with blades and Lee was in love. It took a long hard fight to convince his parents to let him join and to convince the master to let him train but once he had gotten both those hurdles over, it was like starting a wildfire. He was born to work blades but his body still refused to let him move the way he needed to. As a result his master began to work him a little differently from the rest of class; teaching him to make only the absolutely necessary moves to complete an action so that he would not expend any excess energy. It worked like a charm and finally after years and years of work his body caught up with his skills and what started off as a way to get him to survive training became his signature fighting style. His fighting style leaked into everything that he did; his school, the way he handled situations, the way he spoke to people. People called him a simple man with simple needs but the truth is that he is the same as everyone else; he is just efficient.

There is only one small problem; Lee Christmas is his mother's son as well as his father's. His father gave him a fighting spirit that does not fade and does not break. His mother gave him the gift of seeing the best in anything. Despite all the hardships of his life Lee always believed that things would turn out well. He believed in people and he believed in his abilities. Unfortunately for Lee, his abilities rarely let him down but he wasn't so lucky with people. His abilities granted him fame on the martial arts circuits but then in defending one of his team mates in bar, he ended up placing a young man in the hospital. Instead of coming to his defense his teammate changed the story and got Lee get sentenced for jail time. It would have been worst if his abilities hadn't once again saved him and he attracted the attention of an arm of the government that was looking for men of his talents. He got drafted and spent many years as a highly valued asset. During that time his parents died, his brothers and sisters drifted apart from him and his lifestyle did not allow for anything more than one night stands so Lee found himself alone in the world. As a result his work mates became his family but his feelings were not reciprocated. His divorce from his Agent life began as a routine op, turned into a horrible terrible op and then ended up with him being knocked out and carted away to ways unknown while his teammates got away. It was only when he was being tortured for information that he found out that they had left him alone long before he had been captured. Here his abilities saved him again; his resistance to torture and his subsequent breakout and killing of his torturers secured him a place among a rebel mercenary group. And thus his life as a killer for hire began. And while he tried hard to remember that these men were only in it for the money and would turn on him the instant that things didn't go the way it was supposed to go; he was still his mother's son. And thus he had ended up in the exact situation that he now found himself far too many times than he liked.

Sounds of muffled explosions filtered through the walls and thick iron door and his mother's gift perked up inside him. Maybe his mercenary mates had come back for him after all. Then the door exploded and six men walked out of the dust and smoke into his view. His heart sank as he scanned the faces. It wasn't his team mates but another team of mercenaries entirely.

"Gunner," said the one with a beret on his head, "This is last time I let you nav." From the way the others responded to him and the way he held himself; Lee figured this man was the leader. A tall, blond haired man pouted and shifted his gun self-consciously.

"I swear that we were in the right place Barney." The accent was Swedish. Lee raised an eyebrow.

"I told you that it was a bad idea," a small oriental man said, glancing once at Lee and then looking pointedly at Gunner.

"I know," Barney said, "But he begged really hard this time. I couldn't just say no again Yin." The small oriental shrugged.

"So what's the plan now?" a mountain of a man asked. Lee swore that the tall African's arms was twice the size of his legs. Next to the mountain stood a smaller compact man. For someone reason Lee felt that those two shared history. Maybe it was the way that they stood, sort of turned towards each other but still maintaining a lookout around the room. Suddenly Lee felt a presence loom over him.

"You don't happen to know where the leader of the rebels are do you?" Barney asked. Italian for sure, Lee thought. Lee spared another thought about not handing over their score to this man but he didn't really have much of a choice considering he was tied to a chair and maybe this guy could help him out.

"They were coming back to kill me," Lee said, "But I think you just made them have a change in their plans." He looked at the blown open door to make his point.

"The man has a point," another older man with a cowboy hat on, spoke out.

"If I guess correctly; his remaining men are waiting for you to come out after you found that their leader has fled and thus buy more time for him to get away. That gives him about," here Lee paused to think, "an hour's head start. So if you want to catch him, please pass me one of my knives and get a move on." Barney didn't move but instead stood looking at Lee as if he was trying to figure something out.

"You came here by yourself?" he finally asked. Lee was a little surprised at the question.

"Came here by myself?" he repeated Barney's question with incredulous tones, "How much of an idiot do I look?"

"Plenty idiot right now," Barney replied with a small smirk. Lee fought the desire to wipe the smirk off the man's face.

"I came here with a team, things went south and they left me alright!" Lee hissed, "Now don't you have a mark to capture? Just give me one of my knives and I can get out of here." Barney turned to look over at the display of Lee's knives.

"You got something against guns?" he asked. Lee was beginning to feel that maybe he was in a bad dream or hallucinating.

"I like guns," Lee said fighting to control the desperation in his voice, "But I like knives better. I could kill people just as well with knives as I could with guns even if they have guns as well. Now can I please get one of my knives!" His voice sort of broke at the end. Barney turned to look at him and it was as if he was looking into Lee's soul. Lee felt something inside him that he didn't know was unsettled; settle. He felt lost in that clear, dangerous gaze until Barney pulled out his knife.

"What the hell is that?" he blurted out.

"It's my knife," Barney said going behind him.

"That, my friend, is not a knife," Lee said the words seeming to pour out of him, "That is a baby machete. What the hell are you doing Barney?" He knew that Barney was smiling even though he wasn't seeing him. The fact that he knew that made him feel surreal. He was now mostly sure that he was in a bad dream or hallucinating. He then felt the ropes slacken, felt Barney pulled them off him and pull him to his feet. Lee looked into Barney's eyes one last time before pulling away and running over to his knives. He reached out shakily and touched the cold steel. It was then it hit him that this wasn't a bad dream or a hallucination and something had just happened to him that he really didn't want to push further. Not because he was afraid that it was real but that he was afraid that it might end up not being real. He began to slip his knives back into their homes and when he turned around Barney and his team were looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"What?" he asked. The small compact man just shook his head and Barney grinned at him.

"Give the man a gun," he said, "We have a score to get."

Working with Barney's Team was unlike anything Lee had ever done before. The men worked like a well-oiled machine; covering each other, helping one another and even sometimes compensating for each other and all that with a steady stream of horrible puns, witty comebacks and fondly insulting banter. It was what Lee always dreamed a team should be. Strangely enough, him being there didn't seem to throw off anything; in was almost as if he had been meant to be there, trading words with these highly skilled individuals while trading bullets and explosives with their enemies. He forced himself to push down a wild hope that wanted to override his past experiences and focused on making it forward one step at a time. They managed to get past all the guards, procure some vehicles and set off on a chase. Lee found himself riding with Barney and the man in the cowboy hat who introduced himself as Tool and gave Lee a knowing look as if he could see the wild hope in Lee's chest. Lee ignored the look and forced himself to focus on the mission. They caught up with the rebel leader despite the hour and half head start, captured him after a particularly nasty gun fight, in which Lee's knife skill came into play and earned approving nods and then dropped him off at a prearranged site. Lee sat cradling his shot arm as the team drove back to their transport. Barney kept shooting him worried looks while trying to make it look like he was not shooting him worried looks.

"It's fine alright," Lee finally said, "It is just a graze. I've gotten worst." The worried look on Barney's face got more pronounced.

"Where are you going to go from here?" he asked instead. Lee shrugged.

"No clue really," he said, "I don't have an employer anymore since those guys would say that I was killed and I really don't want to go back and prove them wrong." Lee looked out the window and then gasped. "Is that an airplane?" He turned to see Barney smiling.

"Home sweet home," Barney said.

"You, my friend, are insane. Do you know that?" Lee said. Barney laughed and the sound of it made Lee chuckle in response. They grinned at each other and then Lee realized that he had not smiled like that years and from the look on Barney's face; he hadn't laughed like that in years either. They both looked at each other wearing what Lee thought was identical half hopeful, half afraid looks on their faces when Tool sighed from the back seat and said in a disgusted drawl.

"Just offer him a job already Barney and put me out of my misery."

They both jerked and then Barney began telling him about his team, The Expendables. The explanation and Lee's acceptance took them the rest of the drive to the plane. They spent another hour taking care of each other's wounds. Gunner, the Swede and YinYang, the oriental had their own after mission care routines. The massive African introduced himself as Hale Caesar and his best friend was the small compact man called Toll Road. They had just sustained minor scratches. Tool was a longtime friend and somewhat mentor of Barney's and was completely unhurt. So was Barney and it was Barney that dressed Lee wounds.

"So what do we call you?" he asked after he had placed the final bit of tape on Lee's bandage. Lee steeled himself for the inevitable puns.

"Lee Christmas," he said. There was a split second of silence and then everyone burst out laughing. It wasn't however those nasty laughs that Lee was accustomed too, the ones that led to painful ribbing. And the inevitable puns also didn't feel like sharp jabs. Lee found himself smiling and giving out just as well as he was given. It probably would have gone on for much longer if Barney hadn't called it a day and the team began to busy themselves for takeoff. After Lee had stashed his gear, he came to slip into the empty seat next to Barney. The Italian raised an eyebrow as Lee sank into the co-pilot's seat. Lee raised back an eyebrow at him.

"This seat taken?" he asked. A myriad of emotions that passed over Barney face; hurt, anger, sadness and then something like peace. He gave Lee a wiry half smile and said.

"It is now."


End file.
